Congratulations! You’re officially engaged and are now starting to plan your Colorado wedding. How exciting! This is the most important time in your life and my Colorado wedding guide is here to make your life easier. Planning a wedding should be fun and not stressful. So let’s walk you through everything you need to consider when planning your wedding. Let’s get into it!

The Ultimate Colorado Wedding Guide From A Colorado Wedding Photographer

Things to Consider When Planning a Wedding

Planning a wedding can and should be so exciting, not stressful! That’s why I created this ultimate wedding guide. So here are some things to start thinking about before you start planning.

• What type of venue do you want? Think all indoor? All outdoor? Do you want a backup space if the weather is bad? You also need to consider what you want showcased in your wedding photos. Does the venue have good natural light indoors, and are there good spaces around the venue for your wedding portraits? Also, make sure you find out if the venue includes anything such as tables, ceremony set up, etc.
• Think about the season. If you want a summer wedding, will the venue have AC? If you want a winter/fall wedding, will the venue have heaters available? Check out the venue’s website to see if they have a blog that will tell you everything you need to know.
• The weather in Colorado is unpredictable, so I would recommend finding out of there is a plan B location for your ceremony if it is raining or snowing.
• Start getting a list of potential guests before you check out venues so you know a range of how many people you plan on attending.
• Think about your wedding party! Do you want a big one or a small one? Or do you even want a wedding party at all?
• Think of traditions! Think of which ones you want to include or which ones you don’t really care about. For example, bouquet toss, speeches, garter, who’s walking you down the aisle, other meaningful spiritual/religious/ethnic traditions? Or something just for fun!

Let’s Talk Budget! | Colorado Wedding Guide

Think of your budget and all of the absolute necessities that you want in your wedding. Depending on your budget, you may have to pick and choose. So keep reading my wedding guide to see the things that we need to consider!

• Make sure you REALLY love the venue before committing to it. Venue and food/drinks can easily be 50% of your budget.
• Think about what is most important to you/what do you want to spend more money on. I may be biased, but your wedding photos are the only thing you will be able to keep forever after your special day (besides your spouse of course). So make sure you invest in a quality wedding photographer that you truly love and trust.
• Party favors and extra signs/decorations are fun, but not totally necessary! Leave room in your budget for things you actually care about.
• If you’ve been a guest at a wedding, what do you remember from the day? What left an impact, and what did you not really notice? Thinking about this can help you decide what you want to put your budget towards.
• Music is a must have! So would you rather a DJ or a live band? Live bands tend to cost more, but they can really get the party going!

Other Details To Consider When Planning a Colorado Wedding

Here are some other things to consider when planning a wedding, that you may not have thought of!

• In Colorado, an officiant is not needed. Colorado is one of just a few states where you can self-solemnize! I’ve seen couples have their dog sign as witness on marriage licenses! So think about who you want to officiate your ceremony, or if you want to do it yourselves.
• Start planning out your vendors and do it EARLY! For your venue, photographer and wedding planner (if you are having one) you should reach out at least a year in advance. Maybe even a year and a half if you’re getting married during peak season! May-November is Colorado’s peak wedding season, but September and October are especially busy wedding months in Colorado.
• Consider hiring a wedding planner. They’ll take responsibilities off your plate so you can focus on the fun parts of your wedding day. You’ll also have an insiders knowledge so you know things are being done correctly.
• Having a second photographer is also a huge option to consider. You’ll get more the pictures and different angles at the exact same moment! How cool. Especially during first looks, having two photographers lets us capture both of your faces at the same time. Having two photographers is super helpful for larger weddings.
• Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend having an engagement session with your wedding photographer. You get to know one another before the big day, get more comfortable in front of the camera and you can use those photos for your wedding invitations and save the dates. If you need help with your engagement photos, I have awesome blog posts with Colorado engagement locations and a what to wear guide!

Love From My Amazing Couples!

“Picking a photographer for your wedding is probably one of the hardest decisions to make during the planning process. You want someone you can trust, whose aesthetic matches yours, and a photographer with the ability to make you and your partner feel comfortable in front of the camera, especially for an entire day. Dani encapsulated all those qualities!

After meeting her over the phone and then soon after at our engagement session, I immediately knew that she was our match-made in photography heaven. She quickly put us at ease, making an experience that I anticipated to be awkward, really fun. During our wedding day, she found the perfect location for our first look, captured all the best moments in an organic manner, and her style is timeless – one where you can look back decades from now and still feel all the feels.

We consider ourselves so lucky to have found Dani and we look forward to working with her in capturing more major life events to come.” – Annie

Dani Haims Photography | Colorado Wedding + Couples Photographer

I hope you loved my Colorado wedding guide and it helped you during the most exciting time of your lives! If you are ready to jump into the wedding planning process, head to my contact page so we can lock in a date for me to be your wedding photographer! Or, if you want to see what it looks like working with me and having me as your Colorado wedding photographer then head over to my blog to see more of my couples and work!

All love is celebrated here! This business is proudly LGBTQ+ owned. I welcome folks of every sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, age, ethnicity, national origin, and ability. I do all that I can to be inclusive and loving to all people. As long as you’re a kind human, I’m down to work with you!